


Glitch

by Isobel_Ashgrass



Category: Caduceus | Trauma Center Series, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Gen, OCs - Freeform, Original Characters - Freeform, YouTube, Youtuber AU, minecrafterau
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:35:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27050554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isobel_Ashgrass/pseuds/Isobel_Ashgrass
Summary: When five YouTubers get pulled into their Minecraft game, will they figure it out and escape in time?Moved to AO3 from a different site. Involves swearing and there might be character death/violence in the future but I’m not sure yet. Will update tags if needed.Updates are sporadic, and whenever I finish writing a partPRETTY MUCH DISCONTINUED I DON’T REALLY KNOW
Comments: 6
Kudos: 2





	1. Things go horribly right (or wonderfully wrong)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey folks! This is my second multi-chap thing! I don’t think it’s strictly a fic since it doesn’t use characters from the Trauma Center universe, but my ocs are technically fankids so...idk  
> But yeah! This is the first chapter, but it picks up a bit after this.  
> Leave comments/kudos if you enjoy :)

"Aw, _fuck_."

Sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting strips of light across Jesse William's bed. The man thumped his fist on the keyboard as the respawn screen came up on his computer.

"That spawn was actual bullcrap. We're starting again, I refuse to stop streaming two minutes in." He loaded up a new world and pressed play. Sand surrounded his player on one side, open ocean on the other. He climbed up a little and saw a meadow and a small oak forest.

"Okay. I can work with this." He went to the tree and started collecting wood. A donation popped through, playing it's usual jingle as it came up. "Casey, thank you for the dono. Uhhh...my favourite fruit is pineapple. Yes I have it on pizza. Least favourite is bananas." Jesse quietened down for a few minutes and focused on getting enough wood to make tools, while the chat waged war on whether pineapple belonged on pizza.

Out of nowhere, a screeching filled his apartment: the fire alarm. Concerningly, the alarm didn’t seem to worry Jesse. He ignored it and continued digging into the side of a mountain to hide away for the night. The chat complained about the noise as he did so. Eventually the screeching stopped and someone ran to his door. Without knocking, they slammed it open.

"JESSE! WHY THE HELL WAS THE TOASTER ON FIRE?!"

"It wasn't me," he said, continuing to play. His girlfriend-slash-fiancée was stood in the door, frowning angrily.

Donna looked at him angrily. Her body was barely on the camera but when she marched in and folded her arms, the camera got her fully. "We live together. Alone. You literally can't blame it on anyone else."

"Sorry guys, one second," Jesse paused the game and turned round to face her.

"You're _streaming_?!" She went red and backed away from the camera.

"Yes. And maybe I was hungry before I started."

"So you put toast in the toaster and thought it was a good idea to leave it?"

"Okay, in hindsight not the _best_ idea-"

"Did you mute this?"

Jesse's eyes widened as he turned round to check the stream. The chat was going to fast that it was causing Twitch to lag, and he couldn’t keep up.

_**WolfclawGaming:** Girlfriend?_

_**Friesaregood:** The girlfriend?!_

_**chileanywaysACAB:** ITS THE GIRLFRIEND OMG_

_**hundwasserArt:** OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD_

_**JJBakes:** ITS JESSICA ITS THE GIRLFRIEND_

Jesse turned back to Donna. "Ah shit. Sorry Donna, they heard all of that."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Why am I even...whatever, they were gonna find out eventually." She came closer. "Hey chat. Stream. Ugh, I don't know. I'm Donna, Jesse's girlfriend. Sending you all love from the east coast." She backed up again. "When you've finished, you can make more toast Jes."

She left the room, closing the door softly behind her. Smiling, Jesse turned back to the stream.

_**chileanywaysACAB:** Omg her name's Donna _

_**MinecraftStanley:** we know her name!_

_**JJBakes:** o-o name pog_

_**Faustie:** That was the cutest thing! Ever!_

_**WanderingSoul:** girlfriend pog _

"Oookaayyy I'm ending the stream early. I’m low-key really hungry. It’s not ideal, but I promise to do a longer stream on Saturday! See ya!" Jesse ended the stream and quickly turned his equipment off. He closed the blinds to cool the room down a bit before leaving the room. The fanbase was going to have a _lot_ of fun with Donna's impromptu reveal.

He opened the door to their pokykitchen. Donna had clearly moved to a different room, leaving out the bread and a plate for Jesse. He put some bread in the toaster and opened his phone as he waited.

Having two phones was the best idea he'd ever had. Before, when his Twitter and Instagram had been on his home phone, it was a nightmare. Now with the second, he could have a home phone to text his friends and family without having notifications from social media coming through constantly.

He opened his Snap and clicked on 'Lactose IntolerANT'

 **Me:** yooo charl i just finished streaming and set the toaster on fire halfway through lol

He tapped his fingers on the back of his phone as he waited for Charl's reply. They'd been friends for nearly seven years at this point. He knew a lot about her, and she in turn knew a lot about him. They'd met twice: once in Oakland where she lived when Jesse was visiting, and the second time was when they did a joint tour together. She claimed the latter counted as meeting more than once, but since they never technically _left_ each other for more than a few hours Jesse didn't.

 **Lactose IntolerANT:** What?

 **Lactose IntolerANT:** You set the toaster on FIRE?!

 **Me:** in my defence i forgot about it and Donna didn't remind me

 **Lactose IntolerANT:** iN mY dEfeNce...BY THE WAY! Why didn't you tell me Donna was gonna be on today?!

 **Lactose IntolerANT:** I wanted to be there to tease you :(

 **Me:** it wasn't planned

 **Me:** she yelled at me because the toaster was on fire

 **Me:** and everyone heard

 **Me:** so she said hi

 **Lactose IntolerANT:** I can't believe-

 **Lactose IntolerANT:** Hold on can you call?

 **Me:** lemme grab the toast. i don't wanna burn it again

Jesse put his phone down as he popped the toast up. He didn't understand why it failed to pop up on time last time, but it did. He buttered it and moved to the table, taking his phone with him.

It was surprisingly sunny for September, though slightly breezy. Jesse much preferred cooler weather, it was an excuse to wear a jumper and hide his face. Anything to avoid being recognised in public, really. There used to be a time where he didn't, and he would immediately be recognised in the store. If he was quick enough now, he didn't get recognised by more than a couple of people.

 **Me:** kay im good now

As soon as the message was read, his phone began vibrating. He answered the call, smiling as Charl's face filled the screen. She smirked at Jesse.

"So, did Donna get mad when she realised you weren't muted or?"

Jesse shook his head. "Well, kinda? She went real quiet then just rolled her eyes and said hi. Not gonna lie I was fucking terrified."

"Terrified huh?"

Jesse took a bite out of his toast, nodding.

"Pussy." Charl drawled.

"Hey!" Jesse put his toast down and frowned. "I am not!"

"Uh huh. And that's why you ended the stream...oh, not even two minutes after Donna left the room. You definitely _weren't-"_

"Okay! Okay! Maybe I'm a chicken. Whatever," Jesse huffed. "At least I'm not allergic to fucking milk."

"You don't get to me anymore," Charl teased. A muffled shout came from another room. "Harry, I can't say I care."

Jesse chuckled, eating toast again. "Oh, that reminds me. We finished the main season on the other server, so I was wondering if y'all wanna set a new one up tonight? I got sent a seed by a subscriber, it's supposed to be real good."

"You got a seed from a subscriber...and decided that you could trust it?" Charl moved over while Harry collapsed onto the sofa next to her.

"Hey Jesse."

"Sup. And yeah, I did. I got someone to run background checks, don't worry."

"What's this?" Harry asked Charl.

"Jesse got a seed from a follower, and he's suggesting we play it." Charl eyed the juice carton Harry had. Harry sipped the juice quietly, before nodding.

"Why not? It could be fun."

"Are you fucking kidding me? It could be dangerous!"

"Oh c'mon, how dangerous really Charly? Yeah we might loose our entire computer systems but we can always restart that again."

"Exactly!" Jesse said. "How long are you at Charl's for?"

"I go back to Medford next week."

"Soooo....could we play tomorrow?"

"What time?" Charl asked.

"9pm for you?"

"Isn't that 12am for _you_?"

"Doesn't matter," Jesse said offhandedly. "We won't be streaming, it's just some off-camera playing. See if you can get Hana into it too?"

"I'm sure she'll be more than willing. What about Juliet?"

"I'll send her a dm." Jesse smiled. "Right. I should probably clear up. I'm doing a surprise movie night for Donna."

Charl grinned. "Enjoy."

The call ended. Jesse put his plate in the washer and went in search of his girlfriend. He checked the living room first. The room was airy, with a large sofa in one corner. The TV was off, remote discarded on the table. Wind was blowing into the room, making it slightly colder than Jesse liked. He went over and shut them before heading out of the room.

He decided to check in their bedroom next. If Donna wasn't doing something in the living room, she could usually be found reading or something in their room.

Jesse pushed open the door. One of Donna's drawers was pulled open, and the clothes from it strewn across the cyan rug. He frowned and went to the door opposite their bed that lead to the bathroom, hand brushing against the pride flag he had hanging on the wall. He made a mental note to move it to his office before he next uploaded during June.

He knocked on the door. "Donna? You alright?"

"Yep!"

Something clattered on the floor. Jesse heard Donna stand up, and a minute later she opened the door. In her hand was a thin, white stick with a blue tip. Wordlessly, she glanced between Jesse and the stick. Jesse laughed nervously.

"Are you sure? You're clothes were a little...all over the place."

Donna sighed and shut the door. "Jes, I have to tell you something okay? But it might shock you."

"Sure? I mean I wanna tell you something too but-"

"I'm pregnant."

Jesse ran a hand through his hair. "Haha. First you hop on the stream and now you're pregnant. I love you, really, but pregnancy isn't something to joke about. You know how my parents have been _begging_ me to have grandchildren."

"I'm not joking," Donna held the stick up, which Jesse now recognised as a pregnancy test. He took it. Two lines, clear as day.

"Oh shit."

"You're telling me," She took the test back. "My dad asked me to do one thing: don't have kids before you're married. And here I am."

"You don't have to keep it," Jesse said.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying, you have a choice. It's your body. If you don't want to keep it, it's okay with me. Your dad would never have to know."

"No I meant - why would you think I wanted to get an abortion?"

Jesse shrugged. "You just expressed how you were concerned about your dad so-"

"Assuming makes an ass out of 'u' and 'me'," she said. "I want to keep it, Jes. I honestly don't care what my dad thinks. I trust that you're gonna stick round." She put the test down and took his hands. "I love you."

"I-I love you too," Jesse stuttered, blushing.

"Now, what did you wanna say?"

"Oh! Movie night?"

Donna smiled softly. "Sure."


	2. Don’t trust strangers kids

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer’s block is a b*tch. Happy Sanders Sides anniversary!

"When's Jesse joining?" Hana asked as she booted up Minecraft.

"He said 9pm our time...and hopefully he decided to take a nap considering that it'll be 12am his time," Charl answered.

"I'm actually kinda excited for this," Harry said through a mouthful of mac n cheese. He swallowed before talking again. "We haven't played off-camera for ages. Trying to come up with quality content while recording is exhausting."

"Ooh Jesse just text me. He said he's coming."

"Hey guys!" Juliet's peppy voice entered the call.

"Hey!"

"Hi Juliet!"

Jesse joined shortly after. "Jesus Christ taking a nap was a bad idea."

"How comes?" Charl asked.

"I can never sleep long. I just end up feeling more tired than before."

"You sure you're up for tonight? We can always postpone until tomorrow," Hana said.

"No no, it's fine. I've put the server up; I'm sending the IP address now."

The address popped up in the chat. Charl copied it and pasted it into the 'add server' section, joining it as soon as she did. She glanced over to Harry, who was sat on a laptop on her bed. The empty bowl of mac n cheese was next to him.

"Bro you better not spill the pasta." She leant back in her chair.

"I'm _not going to_ ," he glared at her. "Oh! I'm on!"

Charl looked back at her PC. The screen was displaying a normal Minecraft island. A surprisingly good survival spawn if she was completely honest. But there was something off....though she couldn't put her finger on what.

"Dude this seed is actually good!"

"I told you we could trust it!" Jesse said excitedly. Juliet sighed.

"There aren't any caves. I'm not gonna be able to build Redstone stuff for agesssssss."

"Oh stop being a spoilsport!"

"Something isn't right..." Charl said.

"I agree. Did this come with a pack?" Hana asked.

"No?" Jesse's player ran to a tree and started punching it. As soon as it did, his screen glitched slightly. He tried again, with the same result. He kicked his PC gently to try and get it to work. The others were also running around the world, having the same thing happen when they tried to break blocks.

"Well this is crap," Harry said. "I'm going off, let's just make our own server."

"Yeah, this probably has some sort of virus on it," Charl said.

"It's a good spawn though," Hana said. "Juliet, you know-"

"Har-!" Charl's voice shouted and broke up abruptly.

"Charl? You okay?"

"Charlotte?!"

"What the-" Hana's voice crackled slightly before breaking out.

"Juliet? You still here??" Jesse felt bile rise in his throat.

"Yeah. What the hell happened?"

"I'm not sure. I'd call Donna but she's asleep so..."

"Oh no don't wake her up!! Can you get on a video call?"

"Yeah one sec," he sighed and attempted to tab off Minecraft. It was no secret that he didn't get along very well with Juliet. She was a lot younger, and her hyperactivity hugely clashed with his exhaustion. She didn't mean it, and honestly if Jesse wasn't constantly exhausted he'd be fine with it. He was fully aware he was being bitchy but he was so exhausted he couldn't care.

The shortcut wasn't working, and he wasn't able to log off.

"I can't get off," he said to Juliet. "You try?"

"I already have. Alt tab doesn't work."

Jesse breathed in deeply. It was okay. Everyone was at home, their WiFi had just gone. No reason to be scared. _But that's not true, is it?_

"What do you say we quit the game at the same time?"

"Okay...but that's what the others did, isn't it? How do we know that it's safe?"

"It'll be fine - what's gonna happen? We're not in some movie."

"That's true."

"On three. One, two, three," Jesse pressed disconnect. The game glitched and white noise filled his ears. White light surrounded him, eventually turning into greens, browns and blues. His head spun and the feeling of falling surrounded him. After what seemed like forever he fell into something sharp and scratchy.

The brunt of pain went to his legs and hands. Something soft and warm enveloped his body and protected his torso from scratches. He slowly opened his eyes, groaning.

"What the...?" He brushed the jumper that he was wearing. Pink, purple and blue. A pair of jeans underneath, and brown boots on his feet. Hurriedly, he put his hands to his face. A square mask covered it. He accidentally pressed a button, and his vision went pink.

"Argh!" He fiddled around again, attempting to turn it off.

"Jesse?"

His head whipped round. "Juliet?"

The aforementioned girl was stood in front with a confused expression on her face. She was studying the leather fingerless gloves on her hand with great interest. She had khaki overalls and a thin green shirt on, with a belt buckled round her waist full of tools.

"Why are we dressed in our Minecraft skins?"

Everything clicked. His jumper, the mask. "That explains....a lot. As for why, fuck if I know."

Juliet frowned. "Wait so if we came here when we logged out," She patted the spruce tree next to her. "Where are the others? Hana, Charl and Harry?"

"I'm aware of their names. And again, I don't know." He finally found the button and the pink glare disappeared from his vision.

"Your mask isn't glowing anymore dude."

"And?"

"It looked cool," Juliet said, shrugging and flexing her hands. "What do you think happened?"

Jesse turned on his mask again. "I'm not sure. I reckon-"

He stopped mid sentence. The pink haze that came with his mask glowing was clouding his vision once more. However this time, the tree in front of him took a more blocky form. Almost as if...

"No fucking _way,_ " he breathed out.

"What?"

His eyes flicked over to Juliet, who still looked very human.

"You've said 'what' so much over the past few minutes that I don't know why you're saying it anymore."

"Oh ha ha, very funny. Seriously, what are you seeing that I'm not?"

"We're... _in the game_. In Minecraft."

"How's that-"

"Possible? It's not." Jesse turned his mask off again. "But it happened. Now, we should probably find a village or something before-"

A figure pushed the trees behind Juliet to the side. They were holding a sword, arm outstretched.

"Who the hell are you?!"


	3. Apparently villagers are nice?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~this has literally no hits and that makes me saaaadddddd~  
> Side note my Sanders Side fic did really well so I should probably write for that fandom more  
> Have fun meeting the Belmit villagers :)

Hana groaned and rubbed her head. Smooth fabric pooled around her, and a cold surface was being pressed to her forehead. She opened her eyes.

"Ah good. You're awake." A person stood up and moved around the room. Hana sat up and looked at them.

"Where am I?"

"You don't know dear? Why, of course not," The person rummaged through a cabinet. "You're in Belmit. A desert village. We found you and your partner lying in the sand by our border."

"My partner?"

"He woke up before you. I believe he is currently with Lissi." The person came back to Hana. "Here, have this. It'll help with the headache."

Hana took the pill and swallowed it. "What's your name?"

"I'm Rahim. The main cleric of the village. And you, young lady?"

"Hana. I uh...."

"Oh it's quite alright. You don't have to tell me what you do." Rahim waved his hand at her.

"I-I guess so." She awkwardly sat up. The covers fell away, revealing a plain white cotton dress. Rahim looked at her for a second.

"Your clothes are being washed by my daughter. She will have them back soon enough." He turned and began organising his cupboard.

"Rahim, you mentioned someone else...what was his name?"

"Harry, I believe."

"May I see him?"

"Of course. If he is with Lissi, they're probably in the park. It is near the town well, easy enough to find. Ask anyone if you need directions."

Hana nodded and slipped out of bed. A pair of thick-soled black boots were by the bed with some socks lying next to them. She put them both on and headed out of the door.

The village was bustling. People were chatting everywhere. Children ran around, laughing. A couple waved at her, but their parents stopped them and glared at Hana. She found the well easy enough, and the entrance to the park was opposite. She headed in and spotted Harry immediately. He was sat next to a girl with thick dark hair. She jogged over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Gah!" He turned and out his hands up defensively, relaxing when he recognised Hana. "Oh, you're awake!"

"Where's Charl?" Hana said immediately. Harry looked uncomfortable.

"We don't actually...know."

The girl next to him patted his shoulder. "You were transported here from wherever your world is. We have no idea where your friend is."

"And you are?" Hana raised her eyebrow.

"Lissi. I'm Rahim's apprentice."

"Oh right. He mentioned you." She looked back at Harry. "Aren't you at all concerned about Charl? I'm assuming you _want_ to find your sister, after all."

"Of course I do! But we have no idea what's happened, where we are or why. I'm sure Charl is here too, somewhere else. And hopefully Jesse and Juliet were smart enough _not_ to follow us."

Hana felt her anger flare up, before it dissipated. She nodded. "I hope so too."

Lissi stretched her dark arms above her head. "Let's go and see if Amber has finished washing your dress."

"My dress?"

Harry nodded, rubbing and picking at the green wool which covered his arms. Hana studied his outfit more. A green jumper, brown satchel, jeans and green sneakers.

"Apparently we arrived in these clothes. That's what Lissi and Rahim told me at least. You came after, so yours are still at the washer's."

Lissi jumped up, her cotton top in fluid tandem with the movement.

"Amber's literally the sweetest! And she'll probably have patched up any tears while she was at it!" The girl took off, back towards the well. Harry and Hana immediately followed. They went through the zig zag of the village, eventually stopping next to a small house in the corner.

"Amber?" Lissi knocked on the door twice. It opened, a small boy standing on the other side. He looked up at them and turned to shout in the house.

"Mom! Miss Lissi is here, with the strangers!"

A loud noise stopped, and a figure walked into the hall. She was tall, and slim, with tanned skin and short, coily brown hair. She donned an orange dress, with a black apron over it. She looked Hana up and down for a couple of seconds.

"It's nice to see you again," she said to Harry. He nodded in response. "Now, you're the other one aren't you?"

"I am," Hana said. "Apparently you have my dress?"

"It's just finished drying actually. I was about to drop it over to Rahim, but I see I won't need to do that anymore. Do come in," she turned and walked back into the house. The little boy shut the door after Lissi entered.

The house was small and humid. Wood covered the floor and created banisters, doors, shelves and furniture. The house itself was made out of sandstone. Amber led them into a large room, with a red rug on the floor. She hurried over to a chair, where a teal dress was laid over the back.

"Here you are," she passed it to Hana. "There's a changing area over there."

Hana's eyes followed Amber's outstretched arm to a small nook with a curtain in front of it. She went over and changed intro the dress quickly. The fabric was lightweight and seemed frail; in reality Hana could pull on it and it would barely get a scratch. A little redstone block was embroidered in the corner, which seemed familiar but Hana couldn't place why. She pulled on her boots again and stepped out. Amber was talking rapidly to Lissi and Harry. The man turned around when he heard the rustle of the curtain.

"Oh, that looks lovely!" He said. Amber fell silent as she looked over.

"I'm glad to see it fits well. I had to correct a couple of seams that were splitting and I didn't have your measurements. It should last for a while now."

"Thank you." Hana said.

"So, we'll go to Aryan and Fabien?" Lissi said. Amber turned to her, folding her arms.

"Yes, Aryan dropped by and said they both wanted to see the newcomers. Something about a thing the seer said?"

Lissi nodded, her nose scrunching. "I don't like the seer. He knows too much and tells too little."

Amber put a hand on Lissi's shoulder comfortingly. The little boy clutched at her leg. "That is true. However, if he tells us everything we might try to change it and changing the future is never good."

She looked up at Hana and Harry. "Go. You don't want to keep Fabien waiting."

Lissi rolled her eyes and grabbed the two's hands. "He's not that bad Amber, don't scare them!"

She pulled Hana and Harry out of the house and into the street. They glanced at each other nervously as they passed the well.

_Who the hell were Aryan and Fabien, and what was up with the seer?_


	4. Nope, nevermind, they’re not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well yall, it took me far too long but here’s chapter 4. Unfortunately I’ve lost motivation for this so I’ll post chapter 5 as well but I’m not sure if I’ll continue

Charl opened her eyes. The sun was glaring in her face, heat causing her clothes to stick to her. Wait, clothes? She sat up. Her hand brushed against a plan and she sucked in a breath. She brought the hand to her face. Beads of blood were on the palm. She sighed and wiped it against her leg.

Clambering up, she looked around herself. She was in a rather beautiful meadow, with poppies and daisies dotted around. A spruce forest was in the distance (she was unsure how she knew that, but didn't think too much into it). Charl glanced at her clothes. She was wearing a light blue hoodie, with black dungarees and white converse. She reached up and fiddled with the hood, pulling it over her head in an effort to block out the worst of the sunlight. The jumper was thin, but she was still relatively hot.

Frowning, she walked in the general direction of the forest. A few wild sheep looked up at her as she passed. Again, she was filled with a sense of déjà vu. _This whole situation seems familiar,_ she thought. _But I don't know why. I don't live near any fields, much less any like this._

By the time she approached the edge of the forest, the sun was setting. She darted under the trees and pulled her hood down. A path was in front of her, plants and twigs crushed underfoot. She began walking along it, humming to herself.

"Oh I'm gonna die out here-" A growl sounded from the forest to her left. Charl stopped, head turning quickly. The bushes next to the path rustled, and a man emerged.

"What are you doing out here? Do you know where the path leads?"

The man only moaned in response. His jaw opened wide, wider than the normal human jaw is capable of.

"You good?" Charl edged closer. The man reached out to grab at her clothes. Charl stumbled backwards when she saw the horror in front of her. The man's hand was hanging off, and there were gaping holes in his limbs. His skin had a slight green tinge to it. She turned around and began sprinting along the path. More growls followed her, and she was sure she could hear dragging footsteps tracing her trail.

The path suddenly lit up. A village was in front of her. _Thank god,_ Charl thought. She ran to the village gate and hopped over. The zombies batted through the walls at her.

"What the hell dude?!" A man was stood with his sword drawn. "You really brought them here?!"

"I'm sorry?" Charl said, confused. "I couldn't fight them off myself!"

The man sighed and sheathed his sword when he realised the zombies now posed no threat.

"Whatever. Come with me." He grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her into the village.

"Excuse me!"

The man frog-marched her to a stern stone building. Some other people in guard uniforms opened doors from him, barely batting an eyelid. They walked down a series of stairs, winding further and further down. Eventually they hit the bottom, and the man threw her into a cell, shutting the bars behind her.

"Second one this week. Where d'ya find em Fletch?"

"Gates. Being chased by a horde of zombies. Wouldn't be surprise if we go on patrol tomorrow and there are arrows buried into the walls."

"Hey! Let me out!" She pounded her hands on the bars. The man, Fletch, laughed dryly.

"You turn up here with a load of zombies. We don't know you, and I doubt you know us. We aren't letting you out. You get to see the Prince tomorrow with the other two."

"The-what?" But the man had already walked away, talking to the other guard.

"Charl? Is that you?"

"Jesse?" Charl relented.

"Yeah!"

"Charl! Oh, I'm so glad you're safe!"

"I wouldn't call being trapped in a prison cell safe, but okay." Charl shook her head and Juliet. "How did you two get here?"

"Same way you did, I presume. We tried to quit."

"And then we woke up in a clearing just outside the village."

"Mustn't have been where I came from then," Charl muttered to herself. "I woke up in a huge ass meadow. Bit like the-"

"Plains biome in Minecraft?!" Juliet clapped her hands excitedly. "Jesse, remember your mask?!"

"Yeah. Could you uh... stop bouncing? I'm getting a headache, sorry."

"Oh, sure." The tapping from the other side stopped.

"You have a mask, Jes?" Charl asked.

"Yeah. Can't take the blasted thing off. I can see normal, but if I press buttons my view gets altered. To...well, what I'd call reality. Have you noticed what you're wearing yet?"

"Yeah? A thin jumper and dungarees. Big deal, I wear something similar every day."

"But what's _specific_ about it?"

"I don't know? It's just a hoodie and dungarees Jes, calm down."

"But it _isn't._ It's your Minecraft skin Charl. And that's what I see when my mask is on - a blocky Minecraft world. We haven't been transported to another continent, we're _inside the game._ "

Charl began laughing. Gentle chuckles turned into full on wheezes. Tears streamed out of her eyes. "Oh my god. You nearly had me there. 'Inside the game' my ass."

"What? No, I'm serious! Charl you gotta believe me."

"Uh huh, and that means I'm attracted to men. Do you have any proof?"

"Well no but-"

"My clothes!" Juliet said. "I don't own any item on me, yet I know that my avatar wears this every game. We have to be inside the game for the clothes to exist."

"Right, well I can't see you," she laid down in a corner. "I guess we'll see whether it's true when we see 'The Prince' tomorrow, whoever that may be."

Jesse sighed. "I guess so."

"Goodnight."

***

The next morning, Charl awoke to the sounds of a guard rattling keys.

"Up! The Prince has requested to see you immediately."

She scrambled to her feet and waited for the guard to unlock the barred door. As soon as he did, another guard walked in and put her in handcuffs.

"Stay silent. Only answer the Prince when he directly asks a question, you hear me?"

Charl nodded. Juliet and Jesse walked out of the cell next to hers. Another guard was trying to prise Jesse's mask off his face, only for him to yell out in pain.

"Shut up!" The guard released the mask and kicked Jesse's heels. "Keep the goddamn mask on. We don't have time for your shenanigans."

They led the trio up the stairs and out into the street. Villagers were wandering the streets but fled into houses and shops as they walked past, shutting their windows and doors. Charl's skin crawled as they were led to a tall, regal building.

The huge wooden doors were opened by another series of guards. Charl jumped as they slammed shut behind them and a guard snickered. Their coworker shoved their shoulder. They were marched into a large hall that was covered in gold, with sweeping red curtains covering ceiling-to-floor windows. A red carpet led to a throne on the opposite end of the hall. A figure was sat on the chair, complaining loudly.

"I requested them to be here fifteen minutes ago! Why are they late?! When I say be here, I mean BE HERE!"

"Your highness," Another guard, who Charl could recognise as Fletch from last night, approached the figure. "We have arrived."

The man tutted. "Late. Care to explain?"

"The villagers took a while clearing the streets sir. We apologise profusely."

"Hm." The man eyed Charl, Jesse and Juliet. "I am the Prince. And _you..._ are witches."

"What?"

"It's simply obvious," The Prince looked at his nails, flicking them before training his eyes back on the trio. "You appeared in our clearing. We have no information, and we cannot remove your mask. And you came from lands we don't know, bringing the undead with you. Witches, I say!"

"I'd hardly call that a reason to call us witches," Jesse said bitterly. "We know as much as you do."

"Silence!" The Prince said. A guard poked Jesse's back. "Where did you come from? You in the blue jumper? Answer me girl."

"Okay, first off, I am a _woman_. Second, we live in America. I have no idea how we got here, or even where _here_ is."

The Prince narrowed his eyes, before throwing his head back and laughing. "You-! Oh, I _like_ you." He stopped laughing, his face going back to its closed-off resting expression. "You're in the Kingdom of Bridholmor. My kingdom, and therefore I get to decide what happens with you. If you can not convince me that you-"

"Prince! Premier Aryan has sent a message!"

The Prince rolled his eyes as his messenger stumbled into the room.

"Please, do read it."

"Ahem," the messenger cleared his throat. " _'To the Prince of Bridholmor. Greetings, dear friend. Recently we have received two people, not from our world. They claim they have no recollection of how they got here, but we believe it has something to do with a prophecy our Seer told us, around the time the attacks began happening. For safety reasons, we are not to tell you the prophecy. But let it be known that there are supposed to be three other people, chosen as part of the prophecy. We have sent similar messages to Rangmere, Mount Rofort and Turingport. Please send a message back immediately if you have any strangers, captives or otherwise, in your town. Yours kindly, Aryan Gustiel.'_ "

The Prince rolled his eyes and sighed. "I _suppose_ he means these three. Messenger, here is my reply: _Aryan_. We have your three 'chosen ones'. They are being held captive, however we will make sure they have comfort in the Palace. They shall not leave. If you want them, you may come and retrieve them. But as long as they are with us, they are a threat. Well wishes, the Prince."

The messenger nodded and ran off. The Prince stretched his legs and flicked his hand at the guards.

"Uncuff them. They can reside in the East Wing," he tilted his head, crown balancing precariously. "You three cannot leave there. You can wander as you wish, but stay in the East Wing. Understood?"

Charl nodded, elbowing Jesse to do the same.

"Thank you," she said, bowing her head.

"Whatever. Guards!" The Prince waved his hand again. The guards tapped the trio's shoulders and led them out of the main hall. They walked near the entrance and up a grand staircase. The guards led them to a side of the castle.

"You lot get to stay here," Fletch spoke, though Charl wasn't 100% sure which guard he was. "You'll be locked in, you can't leave unless the Prince calls you or Premier Aryan arrives. Enjoy."

The guards marched out. Charl heard the click of a lock, and then silence.

"Well then," Jesse went straight to one of the doors and pushed it open. "Oh, that's a library."

He pushed open another door, and entered the room. "I'm staying here. Call me when we're getting executed." The door slammed shut. Charl looked at Juliet, who was flexing her hands.

"So uh..."

"I'm fine!" Juliet squeaked. "I'm just gonna-I think I'll take this room!"

She pushed open a door, slamming it just after Charl got a glimpse of red carpet. Charl looked around the empty corridor.

"Guess it's just me then."


	5. Oh joy, they’re all going to Bridholmor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically to cut a long story short-  
> I wanna finish this but I lack the motivation. And I’ve started another fic for TSS now so that’s like,, currently what I’m doing. Also my writing style in this is so different? So descriptive? So yeah who knows what chapter five will be like, if there is ever one.  
> Kudos and comments are still appreciated- I knows there’s only like, three people who read this but stillllll

Hana and Harry watched as Aryan paced the balcony. Fabien was sat in a chair, a bored expression on his face.

"Babe if you don't stop pacing I'm actually going to commit arson."

"Well _I'm sorry_ , Fabien! The other three are being held prisoner by the Prince, and knowing him the price will be high. And we don't actually know the prophecy! All we know is that those five have something to do with the Ager." The Premier stopped, resting his hands on the balcony. "What we have here has been put at risk too many times. Our people can't withstand another attack. It'll destroy everything."

"I'm sorry," Harry said softly. "Who's the 'Ager'?"

"The Ager," Fabien said. "Is a powerful being who has been attacking many villages over the past three years. Rannoa and Embel Falls were worst hit. From what I know their citizens either migrated here or to Bridholmor. God bless those who ended up in _that_ place."

"Fay, you can't just say that."

"That place is a hellhole full of homophobia. I am never gonna have a good thing to say about it, other than they're useful allies _occasionally_."

"And our friends are there?" Worry thinly coated Harry's voice. "My sister?"

"So long as they keep their mouths shut they shouldn't get killed before we get there," Aryan said. "We'll stock up tonight and leave tomorrow."

Hana looked across to the horizon. The sun was already dipping, turning the sky a dusty shade of orange. Older children were trudging from one building, backpacks on their backs. Parents were greeting them at their doors, hugging them and pulling them inside. Young children dropped the sticks they were playing with and hurried inside after them.

"Where will we be staying?" she asked. Aryan turned to her, his purple clothes giving him a bigger sense of grandeur than he liked.

"Rahim has plenty of beds in the hospital, you saw so yourself. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to have you for one more night."

Fabien stood up, taking his husband's hand. "I think we're done with this for now. Good evening."

He dragged Aryan into the building. Hana stepped to the edge of the balcony, the warm wind blowing her dress. Harry moved next to her, hand fiddling with his satchel.

"I hope they're going to be okay," he whispered.

"I'm sure they will. Charl's smart enough to keep her mouth shut, and she'll keep Jesse in line. Juliet's naturally quiet anyway."

"Never seems that way on stream," Harry laughed. Hana smiled.

"How are you holding up?" She asked suddenly.

"Physically? Fine, never felt better. Mentally....I'm kind of exhausted. Definitely confused. We've come here, been separated from our friends - two of which, are not straight and currently in a kingdom where being anything but straight is illegal - we've been told we're part of a prophecy, given the lowdown on attacks that have been happening for three years tomorrow, and then told we're the ones who have to stop the bad guy!"

Hana sighed. "I know. It's...less than ideal, I'll admit. But we'll go get them tomorrow, with Aryan and Fabien. It's gonna work out."

Harry turned to Hana, his eyes sad. "I hope so, Hana. I hope so....We should probably get to Rahim. Before it gets dark. Lissi mentioned that monsters spawn at night."

"Another suspicious similarity to Minecraft," Hana muttered. They walked out of the Premier's building and into the village street, heading towards Rahim's house.

***

The next day, they gathered their things from Rahim, bid him goodbye and headed to the border of the village, where Aryan and Fabien were waiting. Aryan had a purple jacket on - thicker than his usual - and grey trousers tucked into brown winter boots. Fabien was stood next to him, in a matching outfit bar having a navy jacket instead of a purple one. His hand was in Aryan's as he waited.

"Come on you two. The horses are waiting." Aryan turned and walked to a small carriage, Fabien following. They climbed up and left the door open. Harry went in third, leaving Hana to clamber in last. She shut the door as she sat down. The driver tapped the horses and they began trotting out of Belmit.

Hana looked out of the window as the desert around them disappeared. They entered a bright green forest, with vines twisting up trees. Sunlight filtered through branches, illuminating dust floating through the air. It would have been rather beautiful, had she not been worried about her girlfriend and two friends.

They passed a handful of witches huts before coming out of the forest. A meadow now surrounded them on all sides, blooming with all types of wild flowers. Some sheep and cows were dotted around, and they darted out of the way as the carriage rumbled past.

"I hate going to Bridholmor," Fabien grumbled, crossing his arms. Aryan rested a gloved hand on his elbow.

"Dearest, we're going to be there for a few hours maximum. I promise we'll be home by sundown."

Fabien just grunted in reply, huffing. Aryan learned a cross and pressed a short kiss to his husband's weathered, earthy-coloured cheek. They went over a bump, causing Aryan to fall slightly. Fabien uncurled his arms just in time to catch him. Hana turned her head, looking at Harry.

"I wonder what the Kingdom looks like," she said. "The architecture must be just as interesting as Belmit."

Harry had been fascinated by the architecture of the desert village. He'd run around with the designers of modern Belmit, talking about how the structures best optimised sunlight and shade, and how they help keep the buildings cold. He had taken a particular interest to the church, which was designed after a desert temple that the original inhabitants of Belmit had built a short while away from the new village.

"I hope so. It'll be interesting to compare a desert village to a spruce kingdom, and see how the different structures have been made optimally for the location of both."

Hana nodded like she knew what he was talking about. "I kind of hope Bridholmor has more redstone than Belmit. Like the village stuff was cute, but I wanna see the complicated weapons structures. The mechanics are so similar to Minecraft, it would be utterly fantastic if I could find a way to reproduce them when we get home!"

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again as the interior of the carriage darkened. They had slipped under a foliage of thick needle trees. The air had gotten cooler, and Harry was thankful for the green wool that was wrapped around his body. Hana shivered to his left.

The carriage stuttered to a halt as they approached the gates. The guards recognised the Belmit colours and quickly granted them access to the kingdom. They drove in silence for a long while. Aryan sat far from Fabien, his hands folded neatly in his lap. Fabien uncrossed his arms and mimicked Aryan, sitting up a bit straighter. The carriage came to a stop.

The driver opened the door and they stepped out. They were in the middle of a giant clearing, at the highest point of the kingdom. As Hana looked around, she began feeling uneasy. A grey wall surrounded the area, tall enough to keep monsters out, and trap them in. If things went south, there was no easy way out.

"Hurry," Fabien said, walking up the gravel drive. He grabbed the silver knocker on the door and pounded it against the wood twice. It opened slowly.

"Premier Aryan, Premier Fabien. The Prince welcomes you. Please, follow me," the servant scampered back inside. Aryan beckoned Harry and Hana after him.

"Woah," Harry breathed out. "This is....amazing."

The hall they'd entered was large, made out of smooth stone. Large stairs led up through the middle-back. A red carpet laid on the floor, trailing up the stairs. A glass chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating the room. A door opened to Hana's left, and she turned her head in time to see the tail of Aryan's purple coat disappear round the door. She grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him through the door. It slammed shut behind her.

"Premiers," A haughty voice talked from the other end of the room.

"Prince," Fabien laced the word with sarcasm. "It's truly a _pleasure._ "

"As it is for me, I assure you," the Prince smirked. "I assume you've come for the other three?"

"We have," Aryan answered. "Have you treated them well?"

"You can ask them." The Prince flicked his wrist and guards calmly left the room. A few minutes later they returned, three other people in tow.

"Charl!" Harry shouted, running to his sister. She hugged him tightly.

"How touching," the Prince sneered. "Get out. I don't want you in here, _poisoning_ my land."

"We've been stood apart for this entire time," Fabien said. "We haven't touched since outside the walls. Shut your mouth before I-"

All heads in the room snapped to the door as a booming crash came from outside. Screams and shouts resounded through the air, and the guards looked at each other. The Prince stood up.

"What," He was breathing heavily. "Was that?"

"Out, now," Aryan said. He grabbed Fabien and ran towards the doors. Charl took Hana and Harry's hands and followed, Juliet trailing behind next to Jesse. They spilled into the front courtyard with a load of guards, all of which began running to help civilians.

"You can't run away, little villagers," A deep voice said. It seemed to come from the very air around them, burying itself within their skin. The thought made Harry shiver. "I'll destroy your adorable village like I did to so many others."

"We need to leave here," Aryan pulled off his jacket and threw it to the ground.

"Who's saying that?" Juliet asked. The Premier glanced upwards and frowned, muttering under his breath.

"Are those...birds?" Charl asked, surprised.

"No. Phantoms. They're worse than birds, trust me. And it's the guy _above_ them that you should be worrying about." Aryan continued hurrying down the hill and into the village. The five of them followed. Charl dragged Hana to the side, narrowly avoiding a building that came crashing down behind them.

"Little Prince...where are you? Your civilians need someone like you right now."

Fabien cursed as they reached the carriage. He yanked the door open and climbed in. As soon as they were all in, the driver nudged the horse and it galloped immediately. Juliet clung to the door as they bounced over the roots in the forest.

As they broke into the meadow, Charl looked back. Smoke rose above what once was the pristine kingdom of Bridholmor. The horse continued, never once slowing down. Aryan was holding Fabien tightly, patting out some flames that had caught in the edge of his shirt. The man winced as he peeled the shirt up, revealing burns on his husband's arm.

"The hell?" Jesse said. "What just happened?"

No one offered a reply.

***

As they got into Belmit, Amber, Lissi and Rahim ran up to them immediately. Rahim took one look at Fabien's arm and took him to the hospital straight away. Lissi began checking the rest of the group.

"What happened?" Amber asked.

"The Ager attacked," Aryan answered. "Surprised everyone, including the Prince. He'll be lucky to die. I can't imagine what he wants to do with him."

"And the Kingdom?"

"Reduced to ashes. If anyone survived, they'll be here by the end of the day," he sighed. "I feel sorry for those who came from Rannoa and Embel Falls. If they don't survive..."

"Sir, you should probably go get a bandage from Rahim for this," Lissi tapped the area around a large gash on Aryan's forearm. "And he can check whether it's infected as well."

Aryan nodded. "Very well. Amber, could you help these five find more... _permanent_ accommodation?"

"Yeah. I'll have to get Daniel off of Neva first, though." She fiddled with her orange t-shirt. "Come on you lot."

***

"So Daniel's your brother?" Charl asked as they sound through the village.

"My son." Amber replied curtly.

"Son? You can't be older than what, nineteen? He can't be your son."

Amber didn't reply. Hana wandered closer to Charl, and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"I think it's a touchy subject. Drop it."

Charl huffed but let it be. Hana slipped her hand into Charl's and squeezed it. The group approached a sandstone building that had a colourful mural on the outside, and chalk circles in the ground. A boy darted away from a teacher and ran straight to Amber.

"Mom!"

Amber picked the boy up easily, waving to the teacher. "Hey Dani! How was your day?"

"Really cool! Miss Neva showed us a video on the monsters today!"

"Not too scary I hope?"

"Nope! I'm a big boy!" He giggled.

"Okay, well, we have to help these lovely new people find somewhere to live. So we're gonna be on a walk for a little bit."

"Okay!"

***

They walked around for a few hours, knocking on people's doors. Daniel got tired halfway through, and Amber had to pick him up for the remainder of the trip.

By the time they found a place to stay, the sun had dipped below the horizon and the air was rapidly cooling. Street lamps were the only thing illuminating the village now. Amber unlocked the door to the small hostel with the key she had got from the owner. She handed it to Harry, who put it in his satchel.

"Thank you," he said.

"It's nothing. I gotta get home, get this one to bed." She shifted Dani up her hips again.

"Of course!" Harry sidestepped into the building. Amber nodded and began walking back to her house.

"Come on you lot. We need to sort out rooms."

The other four entered the house. They all looked around apprehensively. The hostel was actually fairly pleasant considering they were told it hasn't been used for years. The red carpet looked fresh, as did the sofa. The countertops in the kitchen were clean, and there wasn't any dust in sight. Harry began walking towards a small hallway that was next to the kitchen.

"Okay, so there are three bedrooms. Two have two single beds in, and one only has one single. How do you want to split this?"

"Jesse, you want the room alone?" Charl asked him. He nodded. "Okay. Well I don't mind sharing with any of the rest of you, so whatever."

"Okay, so I'll go with Juliet and Harry can go with you Charl?" Hana asked. Charl had a silent conversation with Hana.

"Yeah that works. C'mon losers. We need our beauty sleep to function tomorrow."


End file.
